Shaping device



Sept. 2, 1952 w. A. sAMANs ETAL SHAPING DEVICE 2 SHEETS-#SHEET l Filed April 5, 1950 INVENTOR. WALTER A. SAMANS 8 WILLIAM B. WEAVER ATTORNEY Sept. 2, 19.52 w. A. sAMANs Erm.

SHAPING DEVICE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed April 5. 1950 @qm/Huff INVENTOR.

WALTER A. SAMANS 6 WILLIAM B. WEAVER BY ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES yPATENT OFF ICE i asteniaV v snArING novice y r Waiter A. samansmhuaaeiehis,Pa., and William- B. Weaver, Blooming Rose', W.=Va., assignors to 1E. I. `du Pont de VvNemours & Company, Wilm-ington, Del., al corporation f- Delaware Appl'icationApri-l v5", 1950, Serial No. 154,086

This invention relates to improvements in shapingdevi'cesf and particularly toshaping. devices for `forming expanded 'vitreous Amasses into pre,- determined congurations. v -x Expanded vitreous materialhas comev into: extensive usexfor heat insulationlpurposes in recent years vbecause of its lowunit weight,.high moisture impenetrability and low coeicient of heat transmission. Onesuc'h materiahsoldunder the trade ^name "Foamglasf consists` of' avunitary lmass iof `glass which is expanded tota .ceilulan lowdensity state by releasing gas into the melt and thencooling it tosoiidication, so that the resulting :structure is a' porous glass continuum'.` interspersed throughout wtha myriad: of Yhermeticallyl sealed gas pockets; This product is customarilymarketed; inf'the form of k-rectang'ular blocks. the purchaser himself choosesto; shape theinsulation toconform to the equipment whichl hefdcsires toprotect or preserve;V on the manufacturer may cutx the material` to order in'. each" specicY case. The product is friable in naturegandmay be raccinfately cut' to a; variety of 'complicated 'shapes by conventional cutting devices,- 'suchi as circular saws, band saws or the like; However; because of the highly abrasive nature ofthe-particles, the cutting, elementsare` wor-n* away quite.i rapidly so that vfrequent. replacement# isnec'essary. LA furither disadvantage is that highstandards-f ofreccuracy'in thevshaping-- are obtainable withfcone ventional cutters only at relatively low feedirates.

` Aprincipal objectief this invention" isfto'provide an improved -apparatus-for'shaping expanded vitreous-material wherein'the action is` such lthat the cutting elements have a-` greatly increasedalife as-comparedwith pastpracticea other object of this` invention -is to provide an improved apparatus for shaping expanded vitreousfmaterial which iscapable; offa. high rate of production Awithout sacrificing accuracy. y Another object of this linvention is to provide an improved apparatus :for shaping expanded vit-'- reous` material which eliminates hazards tothe operator and accomplishes its purposei.vvithout disseminating; cuttings into; the: atino'sxn'here;

Other objectsirof'this invention', will becomeap# pareniifircutnthe detailed description" when* read inconjunctionr with the accompanying 'drawings in tvliich:4 4-

-\ :Figure 1 isl a front elevationlf onejembodinlient offthisnventionlwherein thefshapi effected by afsingleftwoibladedassemblyf afreeipro- Figure 2 isla sectional lvie'w?takenlalonglineiclaims. (ci. 16a-4s) 2 Figure?, is `a plan view ot a cutting blade holder;

Figure 4 is a Vfront elevationA of the cutting blade holder` of Figure 31;

vFigure 5 is a sectional view taken along' line 5'-5 ofFi'gure 3;`

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a retaining clamp for the cuttingblade holder.

In' general, the objects of this invention are accomplished by providing a device wherein the cutting blades are reciprocated alternately toward and away fromY the mass of vitreous materialxto be shaped,` so-that full advantage is taken of the fr iable properties of the material, while wearing of the blades isgreatly reduced.

`Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the material feedingta-ble Il] preferably comprises a stiff metal plate having a thickness of the order of about which is supported on a welded or bolted angle'iron frame indicatedv generally at II. In

Vaccordant-:ewithithe practice of this invention, tablet |0- may beV disposed in a horizontal plane or atany inclination to the horizontal. Where the material processed isA to be fed through the Ydevice by gravity, however, it is preferred to ,mount the table at an angle of about 70 degrees fromfthe horizontal. We havefound that the guiding otsucce'ssive blocks past the cutting mche .anysm'is facilitated if table i0 iscanted approximately 10i degrees from the vertical as indicated `in FigurefLlso thatv the blocks, two of which are indicated in broken outline atv I2, will bear against the lowermost of the guiding angles hereinafter dsc'ribed'and thereby resist any deviation from the line of feed due to the `action of the' cutting blades; The' length of table l'should be sufci'ent to accommodate enough material above the cutting mechanism so that the weight ofthe load will be sutcient to oppose the reciprocation oi.' the cutting elementsl and to enablethe nia'- terial tol feed downward by gravity. When rectangular'blocks 12"` wide x 4 thickx` 1 8 long arelshaped by cuttingthrough the 12 X 4' face, we have"` found'that a loading space above the cutting mechanism long enough to receive two vor moreblocksiin: end'to' end relationship at any one time, or about. has. been ample to achieve gravity-iceding;v y l i f 'Ta-ble |10' isfdrilled t'o receive bolts for the retentionf :of guiding angles l3 which are slotted at points I4 on the sides abutting the table taper:- mit lateral adjustmentofwthese members, the angles beingiflocked in desired position by butterfiyfnut's l5.` The lcentral portion o-fV table luis cut awayat lttor pro-vide yan opening forthe cutting blades I'I and I3 which are mounted on holder I9 secured to the underside of the table by bolts 22.

Holder I9, detailed in Figures 3, 4 and 5, may conveniently comprise a short length of angle iron provided at opposite ends with support straps 20 welded 4or otherwise securely fastened thereto. The outer ends of straps 20 are slotted .at 2I for the reception of bolts 22 which engage with blind tapped holes in the underside of table II). Holder I9 is assembled on table I0 with sufficient clearance therebetween to permit free recipro-cation of the holder in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of I by interposing channel iron clamps 23 between bolts 22 and table ID, the channel passages 2-4 in the clamps being slightly larger than the width or thickness of straps 20. Holder I9 is preferably mounted with the same angie of cant as table I0, so that the line of reciprocation of its cutting blades is parallel to the longitudinal axis of I0.

Cutting blades II and |58 may comprise rel-atively thin serrated metal strips, such as hacksaw blades, which are mounted on holder I9 with their serrated edges oriented upwards and in opposition to the direction in which material is fed through the machine. The cutting blades are bent to the prole which is desired in the shaped product, blade I 'I effec-ting the inside cut while blade I8 forms the outside. Where it is desired to shape half round annular pipe coverings, the two blades will be bent into half round profiles, as shown generally in Figures 1 and 2. It will be understood that the blades may be formed to more gradual arcs if it is desired to shape material to other configurations, or one blade of the pair may be bent to a different curvature than the other where dissimilar proles on the inside and outside are required. Where serrated cutting blades are employed, hacksaw blades having to 14 teeth per inch have proved entirely satisfactory, `although blades having 6 to 8 teeth per inch appear to be only slightly less eflicient. Blades without any serrations at all may also be employed, and we have found that somewhat higher production rates may be secured thereby, presumably because less area is brought into operative contact with the material being shaped. lFrom the foregoing it will be apparent that, even if the teeth ofthe blades become worn or indeed entirely destroyed during operation, cutting efficiency will not be reduced. One advantage in employing vh-acksaw blades .as cutting elements, however, is

that these commercially available items possess sufficient rigidity to hold their shapes wellduring service. In this connection, a hacksaw blade lig wide x g thick has proved entirely satis.- factory in forming the outside surface of covering for 4" nominal diameter pipe, the profile being approximately 7%" diameter, while the inside surface was formed with a blade 5/3 wide x sie" thick, the inside profile being about 4%" in diameter.

As shown in Figure 2 it is preferred'to mount the inside cutting blade I1 about 1Avin advance of the outside blade so that the `cutting effort will not be concentrated in the sameplane transverse the block being shaped, but instead will be distributed to some'degree along the longitudinal axis.

The leading edge of blade holder I9 is provided with va number'of slots for the reception of the ends of blades I1 and I8. 'Slots 25 are more shall-ow than slots 2S and are intended for the CII mounting of the narrower inside cutting blade I1, while three pairs of slots 26 are shown in Figure 3 to permit cutting three diii'erent thicknesses of insulation by varying the arc described by outer blade I8. The blades are preferably mounted with their rear edges in contact with'. the]v bottoms offj'the slots to secure additional `support from the holder.

plates being provided with drilled holes 28 for reception lof the retaining bolts. To permit ad- /justment of the mounting of outer blade I8 as hereinbefore described, angle iron supports 29 are employed, these supports being provided with drilled holes similar to 28 (not shown) for assembling blade |18 therewith, and also with drilled holes for the reception of bolts 30 which engage with tapped holes 3I in the lower leg of holder I9 and secure the supports rmly in the desired position.

vHolder I9 is provided with a channel piece 32 on .its forward side which is securely welded thereto and serves as a bumper for the lower end of compression return spring 33, while the rear side is strengthened against the impact of the piston of the vibrating mechanism 34 by the interposition of plate 35 securely joined to I9 by welding.

. Vibrating mechanism 34 may comprise a commercially. available pneumatic vibrator of the type employed for paint chipping or like service, which is secured to the underside of table I0 'by bracket 36 retained in place by two or more bolts 31 whichengage with blind tapped holes in I0. Operating air is supplied to 34 through hose line 38 connected to a suitable compressor or to the air supply system of a building, or other source. A pneumatic Vibrator operating at 1800 cycles per minute on an lbs. air supply, and with a stroke of #eM-le, has proved entirely satisfactory. If desired, an electrical vibrator of similar .characteristics may be substituted for the pneumatic type, the electrical device having the advantage that both the frequency and the amplitude of operation may be varied to lsuitl the particular requirements of the material to `be processed.

Cutter holder I9 is positively maintained in contact with the reciprocating piston of vibrator 34 by compression spring 33, hereinabove mentioned, that is welded or otherwise secured to plate 39 mounted in freely rotatable relation-'4 ship on the end of adjusting bolt 40. Bolt 40 is supported by internally threaded angle iron -4I secured to the underside of table IIJ by bolt 42. Locknut 43 maintains bolt 40 at any desired compression setting of spring 33 and provides means for compensating for changes in the characteristics of the spring over periods of sustained operation.

Insulation is shaped to specifications with the device of this invention by loading the table above thecutting blades with blocks of the material and starting operation of the vibrator. The stroke of the cutting blades is so short, being of the order of only about elf-le as hereinabove described, that practically no cuttings are disseminated into the air and this hazard to operating personnel is completely eliminated.' The limited movement of the cutting blades. has an additional advantage in that thel operator' is not end'angerediby actuallnontact with the-.fcutting Iup ltoab'out 8 nominaldiame'ter, which inge includes practically all 'sizes ordinarily required for insulationp-urposes. For smaller pipe sizes, such as those below about 2f `inominal diameter,

gtwo pairs, 1of cutting bladesv are preferably,

mounted'in side-by-side relationship on the same holder, so that two coverings may be shaped simultaneously. In the latter case it will be understood that the vitreous blocks must be sufciently large so that the near face contacts both sets of blades during feeding. An important advantage of the inventive device is that waste of material can be largely avoided by feeding once-processed material through the machine again, so that additional shapes are formed from the residual pieces which were formerly discarded. Thus, the inner cut outs from 4 half round size insulation shapes may be passed through a single set of 11/2 cutting blades to form lll/(2 half round size shapes, or 12 X 4 X 18 blocks may be inverted and reprocessed where a suiiicient thickness of material remains for the formation of one or more pieces of the same size as, or a smaller size than, those formed on the rst pass. Economy in the use of material may also be achieved by cementing two or more out outs together to make up a larger unitary block upon which to operate, providing that the presence of a cemented joint is not objectionable in the shape thereby formed. While the production of half round pipe shapes has been particularly stressed in this description, because large quantities are often employed at any one location, it will be understood that this invention is equally applicable to the formation of a wide variety of arcuate shapes, ranging from the half annular to the most gradual curves, as

has been hereinbefore described in connection with the mounting of the cutting blades.

Production rates in terms of half round shapes are substantially greater while conforming to precise standards of accuracy than those which can be obtained with any other devices known to us. Thus, a single two blade cutting device of the invention design supplied with blocks 12" X 4" X 18 in size, with the 4 X 18" face presented to the blades, produced 120 pieces of 4 nominal pipe size covering 01%" inside diameter X 7% outside diameter) of 12" length per hour, corresponding to a rate of 60 lineal feet of the complete covering during thisv period. Similarly, a double cutting device having two pairs of blades mounted in side-by-side relationship produced 174 pieces of 2" nominal pipe s ize covering 0% inside diameter X 5% outside diameter) of 18" length, corresponding to a rate of 130 lineal feet of complete covering, when supplied with 12 X 3 X 18" blocks with the 3 X 12" face presented to the blades. In both cases the shapes measured well within the 2% tolerance based on the nominal pipe diameter, which is the standard for good practice recognized in the insulation trade.

6 l .Whilezfwe have yde'scribedtour vinvention 4.with reference *to sth'el pa'rticularembodimentsV and r-modifications. illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will :be understood that other variation's` andxmodifications will be ,apparent .ltofperv'sonsxslsilled ini the Lart'fwithouft fdeparting from fthe-'essential principles 1 of ithe invention, an'dwe .do not.. intend tombe limited inathe scope land 'ispirtlther'eof .except .as setuforth specically` iin the appended patent claims.

:i-ng. a table. supporting said 'blockspositione'd to ifeed; said blpcksthroughitheapparatus by :force of gravitypa multiplicity; of uniformlyI spaced zandfarcuatelyshaped lcutti-ngfnfreans .positioned iin idly vibrating said cutting means in a direction toward and away from the blocks of material to be cut.

2. In the cutting and shaping of sections lengthwise from blocks of material, an apparatus comprising a supporting table positioned to feed said blocks of material by gravity into cutting position, means guiding the material against lateral movement, a multiplicity of reciprocable cutting blades bent to predetermined proles and positioned to cut through the blocks of material in lengthwise direction, to produce sections of predetermined uniform thickness, and means rapidly reciprocating the cutting blades in unison toward and away from the blocks of material as said blocks abut the cutting edges of the blades.

3. In the cutting and shaping of insulation from blocks of expanded vitreous material, an apparatus comprising a gravity feeding table for supporting the blocks, guiding means on the feeding surface of said table to restrain said blocks against lateral movement, a pair of reciprocable cutting blades bent to predetermined profiles and positioned to cut through the blocks of material to produce lengthwise sections of uniform thickness, and means rapidly reciprocating the cutting blades in unison toward and away from the blocks of material as said blocks abut the cutting edges of said blades.

4. The invention of claim 3 in which the supporting table is inclined to a position to produce gravity iiow of the blocks of material and maintain said blocks in contact with the lowermost of said guiding means.

5. A cutting device for shaping insulation from blocks of expanded vitreous material comprising means for supporting said blocks, guiding means mounted on the top of said supporting means for restraining said blocks against lateral movement, at least one pair of reciprocable cutting blades bent to the profiles which are desired in the product, each pair of said blades being offset laterally from adjacent pairs so that each of said blades contacts separate and independent portions of said blocks, and means for rapidly reciprocating said cutting blades in unison toward and away from said blocks as said blocks are forced against the cutting edges of said blades.

6. A cutting device for shaping insulation from blocks of expanded vitreous material comprising a table for supporting said blocks, said table being inclined to the horizontal a sufiicient extent so that said blocks will feed through the device by the force of gravity, guiding means mounted on the working surface of said table for restraining said blocks against lateral movement,

.7 a pair of reciprccablev cutting blades bent to the profiles which are desired in the product, clamps securedto the underside of said table, support- .ingr means; for said blades including a pair Vof Avoppositely disposed straps freely movable inthe direction 4of reciprocation in said clampsl and 'means for rapidly ,reciprocating said cutting blades in unison toward and awaylirom .said blocksA as said blocks abut .the cutting edges of said blades.

7. A cutting device according to claim 'wherein :thefsupporting means for said cutting blades comprises a section of angle iron providedl with vslots on4 the leading edge for'the reception of the ends o f said blades, means secured to` said angle ironfor, retaining said blades ywithin said slots, anda pair of straps secured atopposite corners uo ifthe top leg .of said kangle iron for free movereciprocation.

ment of said supporting means in the direction of WAI-.TER A. sAMANs. v WILLIAM B. WEAVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

